A day of blustery south-westerly winds, heavy rain (a.m) and some brightness (p.m) and increasingly warm temperatures which provided plenty of interest. The year’s first Turtle Dove occurred in unexpected circumstances, heading south over the Brigg and bay late afternoon (MJP), while more expected given the recent influx was our first Little Stint of the
A weekend of strong winds and heavy showers, with our wetland sites attracting most interest. The Dams has 17 Ruff, 33 Dunlin, a Greenshank, a Green Sandpiper, a Black-tailed Godwit, two Snipe, a Shoveler, three Gadwall and 55 Teal today, with two Kingfishers present on 19th (MC), while East Lea has held up to ten
Light to moderate easterly winds with a mix of overcast skies and sunny intervals have dominated the last two days, bringing a few modest signs of continental immigration onto the land and some movement overhead. Today, a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull followed the plough north of the sports pitches (MJP), a Grasshopper Warbler was in the
A similar cast to previous days, with a varied section of waders at the Dams still including the Spotted Redshank and up to three Greenshank, two Green Sandpipers, nine Dunlin, six Ruff, a Black-tailed Godwit, 20 Lapwings and several Curlew (with a further 18 over early on); a Little Egret flew over this morning. The
Activity over recent days has largely involved waders, although the first significant warbler dispersal across the area – with Willow Warblers dominating and small numbers of e.g. the commoner Sylvias, as well as increasing numbers of Yellow Wagtails (into low double figures across the area in recent days) – have also provided interest. Three Greenshank
A wader-friendly Dams has attracted a good cast over the last few days, the best of which is a Spotted Redshank today (JL et al.); also currently present are four Dunlin, four Black-tailed Godwits, a Greenshank, a Redshank, 30 Lapwing and a Snipe. Up to three Green and one Common Sandpiper have also been a fixture,
After much searching (and several false starts), Filey’s first conclusive Caspian Gull was found within a Larid assemblage just west of the Dams today (MJP, DL). Otherwise, the Dams held two Ringed Plovers, a Greenshank, three Green Sandpipers and a Dunlin, and dragonflies included several Ruddy Darters there and a Southern Hawker at East Lea.
Most of the limited activity over the last couple of days has involved waders at East Lea and (particularly) the Dams, where the first Wood Sandpiper of the season dropped in on 4th. Back-up there has included Green Sandpipers (with a clear peak of seven on the evening of 4th), two Common Sandpipers, odd Black-tailed
A promising start to the first month of the birding autumn, with a Honey Buzzard east along the North Cliff early this morning (MJP); a Sooty Shearwater and two Manx Shearwaters went north at the Gap, and a Little Ringed Plover was at the Dams (along with four Dunlin, three Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper
The month ended with activity at the Dams and East Lea picking up (as expected at this point in the season), with combined wader totals including ten Black-tailed Godwits on 29th (eight Dams, two East Lea), single Ruff & Greenshank (both Dams, 29th, with the same Ruff at East Lea on 30th), up to ten